YORK TOWNSHIP – The Buckeye Local School Board recognized staff and formally accepted the retirement of the district’s treasurer at a May 9 board meeting.

At the last regular meeting of the school year, new staff were welcomed, including seven high school faculty members, and others received awards for their work.

The school board formally approved the retirement of district treasurer Carolyn Weglewski, who will be stepping down effective Aug. 1. She has spent 24 years with the district. To mark the occasion, Weglewski’s family, which included two young grandsons, were in attendance.

Board President Barb Gunkelman said the position will soon be posted and members will work to hire a new treasurer by the time Weglewski leaves. Along with the superintendent, the hiring of the treasurer is conducted by the school board.

Staff recognition

Employees recognized included members of the cafeteria staff that took a 16-hour food safety level 2 certification. Superintendent Kent Morgan said as of March, at least one employee with this certification is required in every kitchen.

Primary school teachers also gave a short presentation on the co-teaching model rolled out this year, which places students who are on Individualized Education Plans into regular classrooms containing both a regular and special education teacher.

In the past, special education students would be placed into their own classrooms for most of the day and were often isolated from their peers.

“A lot of teamwork and planning has gone into this,” said Dawn Hartwell, primary school principal.

The teachers have found the co-teaching approach has not only improved test scores for those on IEPs, but for regular students as well.

Morgan also recognized district bus drivers Steve Temple and Aaron Gaebelein, who both recently competed in the Ohio Bus Road-E-O bus driving competition after qualifying from the regional competition, which was held at Buckeye.

Temple finished second in the state, qualifying him to go to the national competition in Indianapolis. He previously competed in nationals several years ago.

Gaebelein finished eighth in the state as a first-year driver.

Financial forecast

Weglewski presented the district’s five-year forecast to the board, stating the district will start spending more than it bringing starting in fiscal year 2019, which is normal in the course of tax levy collections.

The district brings in about $21 million in revenue into the general fund used for operations, she said. About 52 percent of this amount comes from real estate taxes, 25 percent comes from the state and the rest comes from other reimbursements from the state that are gradually being phased out.

On the expenditure side, 55 percent of the general fund budget goes to salaries, 23 percent to benefits and the rest goes towards purchased services and supplies.

Members in a 4-1 vote also formally approved the moving of the baseball field back to the area by the fieldhouse. Morgan said an exact location is to be determined.

Board Member Kim Cecelich, who voted no, said she was opposed to the move at this time because there has been nothing done to determine the cost of repairs at the current field. It is estimated making a new field would cost around $200,000, but a final amount has not be determined.

“I want to know what are we paying for it?” she said.

Cecelich said she was also concerned the new field would displace other sports groups who use the grass.

Students of the Month

Students of the Month were also recognized earlier in the meeting. This month’s student included Hannah Smith and Elijah Kupetz at the high school; Kathryn Kunz at the junior high; Savannah McKee at the intermediate school and Brandt Cain at the primary school.

The board also approved the purchase of three new school buses at $83,000 each for a grand total of $252,000.